


War of the Ring: About Love and Battles

by dab



Series: FiKiWeek 2018 [7]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Durincest, Everybody Lives, Gimli can't handle Fíli and Kíli being sappy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 06:56:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15286179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dab/pseuds/dab
Summary: Fíli and Kíli fight in the battle of Minas Tirith, along with Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas. Their reputation on the battlefield precedes them, but both Legolas and Aragorn had not heard of their reputation after battle.





	War of the Ring: About Love and Battles

**Author's Note:**

> This is my seventh and final work for the FiKiWeek 2018 organized by Gathering FiKi on tumblr.  
> The theme for today is War of the Ring. This is my interpretation.

Legolas found his Dwarven friend sitting just outside Théoden’s hall one evening, a day after they had returned from Helm’s Deep. Gimli was conversing with a big raven, which was standing next to him.

“… tell them to travel onwards to Minas Tirith in Gondor.”

The raven nodded once and departed after exchanging a final greeting with the red-haired Dwarf.

“Is something amiss?” Legolas questioned. He knew of the ravens of Erebor. After Thorin had reclaimed his place as King under the Mountain some 80 years ago, ravens were once again an often-seen sight around the mountain.

“No, it is actually good news.” Gimli explained. “Fíli and Kíli are leading a small force towards Gondor as we speak.”

“The heirs of Erebor?” Legolas questioned. That was very unexpected. Dwarves generally kept to themselves, keeping out of the affairs of Men.

“Yes, exactly! King Thorin had originally wanted to send only Kíli with some warriors. But he should have known you cannot separate them.” Gimli told him, rolling his eyes.

Legolas smiled at Gimli’s affectionate tone while speaking of his two friends. He obviously knew them well.

Aragorn joined them outside at that moment, asking about the raven. He had apparently seen it arrive a while ago.

“That is very welcome news, indeed.” Aragorn responded after Gimli had explained. “We know Gondor will be Sauron’s next target. It is wise you sent them there directly.”

Gimli nodded.

“I have not met them before, but I assume they are formidable warriors?” Aragorn inquired.

“They are unstoppable.” Gimli told him. “Fíli wields basically all weapons, but is a master with his dual swords. No foe can come near him while he fights.”

Aragorn whistles in admiration. Dual swords were difficult to wield properly.

“Kíli is excellent with his longsword, but it is his prowess with a bow that is truly tremendous.”

Legolas nodded in acknowledgement. He had known Kíli was an archer.

“But together they are almost otherworldly.” Gimli stopped, trying to find the words to describe what he had seen on multiple occasions on the battlefield.

“Imagine this: Kíli standing on high ground, shooting arrow after arrow and killing all enemies which are out of Fíli’s range. At the same time, Fíli is defending Kíli with his life, obliterating any and all foes that manage to pass through Kíli’s rain of arrows. It is truly amazing.” Gimli’s depiction of the heirs sounded magnificent and it made Legolas and Aragorn look forward to view them in battle.

“I hope to meet them then.” Aragorn said, lighting his pipe.

“Just one warning. They are disgustingly affectionate, especially right after battle.” Gimli told them.

Aragorn and Legolas both raised an eyebrow at that statement. Just when Legolas wanted to ask what he meant exactly, Gimli held up his hand.

“Do not ask. You do not want to know what I know or how I know this. Just consider yourself warned.” Gimli said quickly.

Both Legolas and Aragorn grew infinitely more curious when they spotted a blush on Gimli’s cheeks, partly hidden by his beard. What made such a hardy Dwarf as Gimli blush? It turned out that the answer to that question was quite unexpected.

 

***

 

When Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli exited their hijacked boat near Minas Tirith, the battle was in full swing. Orcs were fighting as far as they could see and the sounds and scents of battle assaulted their senses. It was apparent that the orcs were overwhelming the human forces. Aragorn was glad for the aid of the dead army. Just as he let their force loose onto the battlefield, both him and Legolas spotted two Dwarves in the thickest part of the battle near them. Judging by their armor and weapons, these Dwarves were obviously Gimli’s friends and the heirs to Erebor.

The blond-haired Dwarf was wielding two swords with deadly precision. At his back was his brother, fighting just as ferocious with a longsword. But the striking thing was not their expertise with their weapon of choice. It was their coordination that stood out above all else. When Fíli moved left, Kíli covered his right. When Kíli turned, Fíli was fighting off enemies at his back. They were perfectly attuned to the other’s movements. At one point Kíli turned around while Fíli had his two swords stuck in two different orcs. A third orc was approaching Fíli with murderous intent and Kíli actually killed it by jumping on his brother’s back and decapitating it from there. In that same movement, Fíli ripped his swords out of the two bodies and spun around with Kíli still on his back,  taking down multiple enemies. It was… beyond impressive.

There was no time for anything but fighting after that and the two Dwarves only came to the forefront of their minds again when it was over. They were about fifty feet away, surrounded by a pile of orc bodies. It was Aragorn who saw them first and he started to approach them.

“Just.. leave them for a little bit.” Gimli told him, stepping between Aragorn and the heirs.

“Why?” Aragorn questioned, drawing Legolas’ attention as well.

“They have no eye for anybody but each other right now.”

Gimli was right. The brothers had dropped all their weapons now that the danger was over. Kíli dropped on the ground, completely out of breath but with a big grin on his face. It was matched by his brother, who sat on Kíli’s lap facing him. Their hands were immediately touching, affirming they were both indeed alive and relatively unharmed. Their eyes never left each other and they touched their foreheads together affectionately, basking in each other’s presence.

There was no time for any questions or comments in that moment. Aragorn and his companions were swept up in all kinds of tasks that required their immediate attention.

It was a few hours later when the remaining members of the Fellowship were finally taking some time to sit down, rest their legs and eat something. They were gathered in a meeting room in the palace, and had been served dinner from the Steward’s food reserves.

Their peace and quiet was disturbed when the doors banged open and Fíli and Kíli strode in, all Royal grace and confidence. They spotted Aragorn and made a beeline for him. Kíli winked at Gimli when they passed him. They stopped in front of Aragorn and introduced themselves.

“Fíli.” “And Kíli.”

“At your service.” They said together, after which they bowed deeply.

“Aragorn, at yours.” Aragorn responded, inclining his head at them. “I want to thank you for your contribution in today’s fight. You two are truly a force to be reckoned with.”

“We hear that a lot.” Kíli said with a cheeky grin. “And not always as a compliment.”

“We are glad we could be of help.” Fíli added. “Gimli set a good example of interracial relations being valuable to us all when he joined your quest in Rivendell. We were inspired.”

“But I bet you were not opposed to leaving those stuffy council rooms behind for a few weeks.” Gimli said with a knowing smile.

Kíli turned then, a fake outraged look upon his face.

“The audacity! We are your royal Princes. Show some respect!”

“He is right though, Kíli.” Fíli said with a smirk. “We have had so much time for… other things since we’re on the road.”

Kíli shoved his brother and approached Gimli, touching their foreheads together briefly in greeting. Fíli followed and did the same.

“It is good to see you again.” Gimli told them.

“Yeah I bet. You haven’t been in the company of Dwarves for too many months now. I bet none of your companions know how to properly celebrate after victory.” Kíli responded.

Gimli roared with laughter. He had almost forgotten how easy it was to have a good time when the brothers were near.

After formally introducing themselves and greeting all others in the room, they ended up in front of Legolas.

“Prince Legolas.” Fíli greeted formally, their bow a little less deep and a lot less enthusiastic.

“Prince Fíli. Prince Kíli. Thank you for coming to our aid.” Legolas answered with a short bow of his own.

Gimli sensed that an insolent comment was forthcoming by one of the princes and so he quickly offered to get them an ale. His offer was accepted gratefully.

Attention shifted to Gandalf then, who had important news to share with Aragorn on their next move.

It was Legolas who noticed Gimli’s discomfort first, a little while later. Gimli was scraping his throat and making more noise than was normal while eating. He was also blushing furiously. Legolas’ eyes slid over to the two Dwarves sitting a little further back, away from the rest, and he immediately understood Gimli’s strange reaction.

They were completely entwined for all to see. They were seated on a bench, straddling it with one leg on each side and facing each other. Fíli’s legs were draped over Kíli’s, causing their upper bodies to be flush together. Legolas’ eyebrows rose when he saw Fíli grip Kíli’s hair and pulled his head sideways, latching onto the skin on his neck with enthusiastic bites and suction.

Legolas leaned closer to Gimli and softly enquired about them. “Is this how Dwarves celebrate victories?” Legolas asked, referring to Kíli’s earlier statement.

Gimli’s blush intensified threefold and he nearly choked on his sip of ale. He spluttered and coughed harshly before denying Legolas’ assumptions vehemently.

“This is just their sappy, disgustingly affectionate side. Try to ignore it.”

Legolas looked at the two heirs again, his eyes catching Aragorn’s, who had spotted them as well. Aragorn shrugged and seemed unaffected by their display of affection. He knew love when he saw it.

But Legolas still thought it was a strange phenomenon: the contrast between their fierceness in battle and their affection outside of it. But when he conveyed this thought to Gimli, he was surprised at his answer.

“It is not really strange. Both are expressions of their love for each other. They fight ferociously to keep each other alive and they are passionate after they have both survived.”

Legolas nodded in understanding.

“And here I thought Dwarves only held love for their gems and weapons.”

Fíli answered him unexpectedly, having detangled himself from his brother.

“And you would be right. Kíli is both my gem and my weapon.” He said theatrically and winked at his brother.

“Don’t be corny, it is unbecoming.” Kíli retorted, his eyes shining with mirth.

Fíli ignored him and continued, now directing his comments at Gimli, but having gained the attention of the other occupants of the room.

“And we both know we have to take care of our gems and weapons. We have to polish and _rub_ our gems to make them shine and _oil_ our weapons to make them slick. It is _hard_ work.” The double meaning of Fíli’s words was not lost on Gimli and he knew they were teasing him.

Kíli rose from his seat then, took Fíli’s hand and guided him to the door.

“Let’s go Fíli. We need to oil each other’s swords again. You know how important that is just after battle.” They disappeared through the door, their laughter trailing behind them, and left the occupants of the room chuckling in amusement.

“Now I understand your warning about their level of affection.” Aragorn commented.

“Yes, they are quite shameless.” Gimli said, both embarrassed at their behavior and proud of their confidence. They had been right all those years ago: they had nothing to be ashamed of.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! It was so much fun to make these 7 stories for FiKi Week 2018.   
> I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.


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